Kalen DeBoer spoke to Action News' Bri Mellon about his plans as head coach of the Bulldogs.

One season away was long enough.

"Having learned so much over the past 2-3 years about Fresno State and being an integral part of the success that we had, it was a dream at some point when I was here to maybe be in this position. It really was," he says.

DeBoer thanked Jeff Tedford for hiring and guiding him over three years ago.

He was also excited to meet with his team for the first time.

"The guys who I had the chance to recruit and coach and come back and see them finish out their career... I just shared with them my goal as head football coach is to make playing football at Fresno State one of the most exciting times of their personal life."

DeBoer filled in all the boxes for the search committee and even students.

"He was here in 2017 when we had a decent team and everything. It's an upside to it. Hopefully, we get back to the Bulldog way," says sophomore Grayson Wise.

The Red Wave is counting on that.

"The person we were looking for was somewhat special. Almost like a unicorn. You don't find these people all the time," says Athletic Director Terry Tumey.